GDF15 and ACE2 stratify COVID-19 patients according to severity while ACE2 mutations increase infection susceptibility

Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2022 Jul 22:12:942951. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.942951. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is a persistent global pandemic with a very heterogeneous disease presentation ranging from a mild disease to dismal prognosis. Early detection of sensitivity and severity of COVID-19 is essential for the development of new treatments. In the present study, we measured the levels of circulating growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in plasma of severity-stratified COVID-19 patients and uninfected control patients and characterized the in vitro effects and cohort frequency of ACE2 SNPs. Our results show that while circulating GDF15 and ACE2 stratify COVID-19 patients according to disease severity, ACE2 missense SNPs constitute a risk factor linked to infection susceptibility.

Keywords: ACE2; COVID-19; GDF5; inflammation; mutations.

MeSH terms

  • Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 / genetics*
  • Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 / metabolism
  • COVID-19* / diagnosis
  • Growth Differentiation Factor 15 / genetics
  • Humans
  • Mutation
  • Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A / genetics
  • SARS-CoV-2 / genetics

Substances

  • GDF15 protein, human
  • Growth Differentiation Factor 15
  • Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A
  • ACE2 protein, human
  • Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2